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` 1,543,723 C. s. RIVTZ LADDER SHOE Filed Sept. 2. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l vv w TMW,

June 30, 1925.v

C. S. RlVlTZ LADDER SHOE Filed Sept. 2. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CMM 5am? Patent June' 309 z .LES. FEZ, @E CLEVELAND, 6m@

` una anton.

l Application med September To all whom t may concer/n:

Be it known that l, CHARLES S. Rrvrrz, a citizen of the United States, residing at ,Cleveland in the county of Cuyahoga and IState of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Im rovement in a Ladder Shoe,

l of which the ollowing is a lull, clear, and

exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

rlhis invention relates to a ladder construction and is particularly concerned with providing a universal toot for a ladder to prevent slippae ol the base ol the ladder when in use. ore particularly, the object is to provide a ladder toot which shall have a single wedge-shaped point ada ted to be secured to each leg of the lad er, which point shall alsoserve as a pivot bearing lor an easily detachable and substantially dat ground-engaging shoe.

l have shown my invention adapted to be used with a ladder havin rectangularly formed side bars or legsan have provided lor mounting a socket having a substan-v tially rectangular opening at the bottom end of each leg of the ladder' in such a way that a certain size ci socket will serve to receive a number of rectilinear shapes of ladder' legs. The lower end ot the socket l prefer to sha e into a wed e which may engage the groun at a single ine parallel to the rangs of the ladder or at a plurality otshorter lines by reason of having the wedge cut awa in places along its engi point. ln its preferred construction, the wed shaped end has an opening parallel to te ground-engaging line lor receiving an attachin bolt or ivot pin for a substantially at shoe. T e shoe is shown as having upwardly extending ears which engage the ends' oi the pivot'pin. The ivot pin may be ci any sort adapted to e easily and uickly removed and the securing means or the pin may be a wingnut as shown."

Other forms ot ladder toot ot this general character are easily suggested by this construction, such tor instance as a pivoted reversible member having a wedge or points at one end and a substantially dat toot at the other. end which may be held against pivotal movement when the wedge or pointy ed end engages the ground, or allowed to freely pivot when the Hat loot is down. l consider .such a construction within the spirit and scope oi my invention. Uther ob jects and ieatum will become apparent in provided with a a, root. aerial warteten the `further description which zortains to thev accompanying drawings. Te essential novel characteristics will be summarized in the claims.

ln the drawings, Fig. l is a perspective of the lower portion ot a ladder lshowing the preferred embodiment ot my invention attached thereto; Fig. 2 isaplan View oi the complete device; Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof; Fi. fl is a bottom plan ot a portion et one o the pivoted feet and Fig. 5 yis a perspective ot one ot the ieet adapted `to enge loose earth, gravel, etc.

lin general, m invention consists of a socket member l, avin a reduced extension 2. projecting from its ower end and prefera ly formed intelly therewith. 'lo this extension l preleraly attach a substantially flat pedestal member 3 removably pivoted at 4. The a erture for receiving the end of a ladder si e or le L is shown in Fig. 2 as being substantial y rectangular, the side walls forming the opening being cut away to eliminate unnecessary weight and being plurality oi clamping screws 5 and 6.' l ave found that a convenient arrangement tor these screws is that shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and consists in locating a single screw 5 on one oi the walls of the socket about midway between the top ttt and bottom of the a erture and another l screw on one of the adjacent sides.

As shown in Fi. 2, each oi the screws 5 and ti are placed :t center with reference to the opening. This arrangement provides tor using a soclret ot the proportions indicated by the drawings in connection with a considerably smaller ladder leg than would lit the socket, yet which smaller leg would be adequately clamped by reason of the od center screw arrangement. For example, in case of a very thin leg, the screw/ 6 would push the leg to the o posite side ot the soclret where it would e directly engaged by the loot 5t ot the screw 5.

The screws are preferably located in cupped embossed portions of the sockets l and 8. Each screw is provided with swiv eled feet 5 and 6 which may be entirely withdrawn into the cups as shown in lig. 3 to allow the use et the sockets with ladder tot loe'

legs which substantially till them. rThe exened by the addition of material at 17 v which is provided with an opening for the shoe attaching pin or bolt, asshown. Additional reinforcing for the converging members is had by a web 10 having a horizontal fiat vupper surface which may also serve as a rest for the bottom of the ladder leg. The construction is still much lightened without sacrificing strength by cutting the socket member away at 23 and 24.

The foot 3 has upwardly extending ears 15 andl 16, each having laligned openings through which a bolt 18 may extend to secure the shoe to the extension as shown. I prefer to employ a wing nut 19 to secure the bolt in place to facilitate the rapid removal and replacement of the shoe when it is desired. The bottom face of the shoe, I

have shown as faceted to provide a great number of points 20 projectingfrom .the general plane of the lower surface at the foot which I have found forms the best sort of a surface for engaging concrete, brick and the like, while by simply removing the shoes entirely the ladder may be rested upon the wedge-shaped points 13 which forms the best engaging surface`- for a wooden floor, gravel or earth.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. A ladder foot comprising in combination a substantially rectangular socket member, a plurality of clamping screws each ,provided with a swiveled clamping member, the axis of each being offset from the center of the socket, said screws projecting within the socket member from two directions, one

set of screws being perpendicular-ly placed relative to the other set, and a wedge-sha ed extension projecting from the lower en of the socket member capable of engaging the ground and of independently .supporting the ladder and reventng slippage.

2. A ladder oot comprising in combina.- tion a substantially rectangular socket member, a plurality of ladder leg clamping screws supported by recessed projections on said socket member, each screw havin a swiveled clamping foot adapted to be withdrawn into the recess formed in the respec-l tive projection, converging members unitarily joined and extending downwardly from two sides of said 'socket member for engaging the ground.

3. A ladder foot comprising in cdmbination a substantially rectangular socket member, a-plurality of clamping screws carried thereby, the axis of each being oset from the center of the socket, said screws projecting within the socket member from two directions, one set of screws being disposed at an angle to the other set, and a wedgeshaped extension projecting from the lower end of the socket member capable of engaging the ground and of independently supporting the ladder and preventing slip age.

4. A ladderv foot comprising in com ination a hollow member for receiving a ladder leg, means carried by the member and extending inwardly from two directions for clamping the leg, said hollow member having openings at the base on opposite sides, inwardly and downwardly converging members integrally joined to the hollow member and to each other and a web having a flat upper surface extending across the hollow memberin the region of the openings for reinforcing the foot and providing a base support for the ladder leg.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afix my signature.

CHARLES S. RIVITZ. 

